North suspending its nuclear and missile testing
SEOUL — North Korea said Saturday it has suspended nuclear and long-range missile tests and plans to close its nuclear test site.
The announcement came ahead of a new round of nuclear negotiations among Pyongyang, Seoul and Washington, but there was no clear indication in the North’s announcement if it would be willing to deal away its arsenal.
The North rather expressed confidence about its nuclear force, which leader Kim Jong Un declared as complete in November after a slew of weapons tests that included the underground detonation of a purported thermonuclear warhead and flight tests of three intercontinental ballistic missiles.
“We no longer need any nuclear test or test launches of intermediate and intercontinental range ballistic missiles and because of this the northern nuclear test site has finished its mission,” the North’s official Korean Central News Agency quoted Kim as saying Friday.
The agency also said the country is making the move to shift its national focus and improve its economy.
Some analysts believe Kim is entering the negotiations from a position of strength and is unlikely to accept a significant cut of his arsenal. South Korean and U.S. officials have said Kim is likely trying to save his broken economy from heavy sanctions.
After the announcement Saturday about testing, President Trump tweeted, “This is very good news for North Korea and the World” and “big progress!”
He also said he’s looking forward to his upcoming summit with Kim in May or June.
The North also vowed to actively engage with regional neighbors and the international community to secure peace in the Korean Peninsula and create an “optimal international environment” to build its economy.
The announcements came days before Kim is set to meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in in a rare summit aimed at resolving the nuclear standoff with Pyongyang. The two Koreas also announced Friday the installation of the first telephone hotline between their leaders before their faceto-face meeting next Friday at the border truce village of Panmunjom.
Seoul says Kim has expressed genuine interest in dealing away his nuclear weapons. But North Korea for decades has been pushing a concept of “denuclearization” that bears no resemblance to the American definition, vowing to pursue nuclear development unless Washington removes its troops from the peninsula.